In pictures: Rare glimpse inside North Korea

Rare images from North Korea – Technicians check the North Korean satellite launch vehicle Unha-3 on the launch pad at the Sohae Satellite Launching Center on April 8.

Hide Caption

1 of 10

10 photos

Rare images from North Korea – The usually secretive North Korea organised an unprecedented visit for foreign reporters to Tongchang-ri space centre on April 8. During the train journey from Pyongyang to the North Pyongan Province, a journalist took this picture of a North Korean soldier standing at an observation post.

Hide Caption

2 of 10

10 photos

Rare images from North Korea – North Korean women are seen from the window of the train as they work on a paddy field, April 8, 2012.

Hide Caption

3 of 10

10 photos

Rare images from North Korea – The train passes by a small town on the way to the Sohae Satellite Launching Station in Tongchang in the country's north-west.

Hide Caption

4 of 10

10 photos

Rare images from North Korea – A troupe of North Korean soldiers is seen marching along the railway, carrying flags.

Hide Caption

5 of 10

10 photos

Rare images from North Korea – A North Korean soldier stands guard in front of the Unha-3 rocket during a media tour of the Sohae Satellite Launching Station on April 8, 2012.

Hide Caption

6 of 10

10 photos

Rare images from North Korea – North Korea announced last month that it would launch a rocket carrying a satellite between April 12 and 16 to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung, the founder of the Communist state.

Hide Caption

7 of 10

10 photos

Rare images from North Korea – A North Korean cameraman films a map showing the site where the Unah-3 rocket is being prepared for launch.

Hide Caption

8 of 10

10 photos

Rare images from North Korea – North Korean technicians work at the control room of the Tongchang-ri space center on April 8. The North Korean regime insists it's launching a satellite, not testing a missile.

Hide Caption

9 of 10

10 photos

Rare images from North Korea – North Korean officials and foreign journalists leave the launch pad after a visit to see the rocket Unha-3 at the space center on April 8.